


Choices

by juniperallura



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-08
Updated: 2017-04-08
Packaged: 2018-10-16 06:56:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10566000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/juniperallura/pseuds/juniperallura
Summary: Two companion drabbles: The night before Hakoda leaves the village; the day Katara tells her father about Yon Rha





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just two scenes I wish the show had gone into a little more, since Katara & Hakoda were obviously close, but Sokka gets a bit more of the dad-development

Warm candlelight glittered over the hard packed snow. Strings and drums, matched in rhythm by shuffling, stomping feet, rang out into the crisp night. The village seemed to buzz with festive energy, breathing a collective sigh of relief as it threw off the burden of war (even if it had to be shouldered again in the morning). 

 _The village_ \- minus Katara.

She tucked some hair behind her ear, regretting having given up on taming her thick locks in a haze of frustrated tears. Although Gran Gran had convinced her to wear her coat, heavy with decorative embroidery and beading, Katara still found herself shivering at the slight breeze. She sighed, leaning over the table to prop her chin up with her hand. Her eyes slowly scanned the courtyard, which was lit up with cook fires and smiles like she hadn’t seen in a long time. Someone in the swirling group of dancers was singing off key- probably Bato.

 _The Last Hurrah_. That’s what her dad called it, at least. Celebrating the last night before the village men left for the Earth Kingdom. Somehow, Katara wasn’t in a very celebratory mood. 

A shadow fell over her, interrupting her thoughts. Katara looked up to see Hakoda standing before her, his hand outstretched. She hadn’t noticed the music change. 

“Want to dance?” He asked, a soft smile on his face.

Katara frowned, refusing to meet her dad’s eyes. She saw Sokka across the floor, listening to some warrior’s tale with sparkling eyes. “No, thank you,” she answered in a flat voice.

Hakoda’s face fell. “Katara-” Something pleading in his tone made Katara’s chest tighten, but she wouldn’t look at him. Hakoda tried again. “This is your favorite song, isn’t it? You were just singing it, the other week.”

Katara crossed her legs, suddenly conscious of her tapping foot. A grunt sufficed as her response.

Hakoda sat across from her, the clicking of his hair beads timing the silence that stretched between them. After a minute he cleared his throat, a wistful expression coming into his features as he changed subject again. “Do you remember learning to dance at the Moon Festivals? You would stand on my feet and we’d dance until my toes were black and blue.” Katara finally met his gaze. “I think we almost bowled your grandmother over one year.”

Cold as she was a minute ago, Katara’s face flushed with heat. She couldn’t help the spite in her voice as she snapped, “Yeah, well I can dance on my own now- not that I have a _choice_.”

“ _Katara_ -” He said her name almost reproachfully, but cut himself off. A deep sadness pooled in his eyes, dragging down his face. Hakoda reached over and wrapped his calloused hand around Katara’s. “You know I don’t want to leave you kids, but there’s no other way. We have to protect our village.” He seemed to steel himself for his next words. “It’s our _duty_.”

For a moment the expressions of father and daughter mirrored each other- uncertainty, regret, the echo of things both shouted and left unsaid, all flashed between them.

Suddenly, Katara was jolted from her reverie and pulled her hand away, eyes clouding with anger. “You don’t _have_ to do anything-” Her tone was rising but her voice broke off; suddenly it was too much to contend with the dryness in her throat and stinging in her eyes. She hadn’t noticed how many people were looking at them. 

A voice, soft but cracked, accompanied the sudden pressure on her shoulder. “Sweetheart, why don’t you come help with the five-flavor soup? We could use your touch.” Gran Gran’s gentle eyes hovered over her, offering an escape. Katara took a shuddering breath, nodding and standing up without looking at her dad. Kanna guided Katara away from the table, looking at Hakoda with a firm, but sympathetic, shake of the head. 

Katara couldn’t help but be comforted by the circle of familiar women, all gossiping and chiding and joking with one another over the bubbling stew pot. Although they weren’t her mother’s, she welcomed the warm hands that smoothed her hair and feminine voices that soothed her nerves. It was only Sokka’s laugh, ringing out so _desperately_ from the group of men, that made her grip on the wooden ladle she wielded tighten until her knuckles were white. She held herself together, pushing away the persistent memory of her father’s pleading face, pushing down the churning feeling in her gut. 

The waning moon rose higher in the sky. 

She heard Sokka’s stupid laugh again.

Everyone was lining up for food when for what must have been the eighth time that night she heard her brother sigh,  _“I just wish I could go with you.”_

Suddenly, the world went red. The ladle was thrown into the stew with a splash. Every bit of heat in Katara’s body was pooling in her face. The hot tears spilling from her eyes made it difficult to see who she was pointing at accusingly. The cry ripped through her scratched throat-  _“What is wrong with you?!”_

The hands that reached out to her were no longer comforting, just infuriating. Why were people trying to _comfort_ her? Acting like this was _normal?_ Katara pushed her way out of the crowd, storming back to her igloo where wracking sobs overtook her.

Eventually her tears subsided and she crawled into bed, breathing deeply and evenly under a warm pelt. Someone pushed aside the curtain- Hakoda, with his clicking beads- but left the room after standing silently in the doorway for a minute. Katara drifted into an uneasy sleep.

Only a few hours later, pale light began to flood the South Pole and reached Katara through the igloo’s oculus. She awoke with a jolt, her eyes immediately darting around the empty room. _Empty_.

Katara could barely be bothered with her boots, let alone her parka, as she stumbled out into the early light and took off running toward the ocean. Tears, prompted by either the frigid morning air or the dark memories of the night before, stung in her eyes. Soon she spotted a blue-sailed fleet of ships, surrounded by a crowd of her tribesmen. 

 _“Dad!”_ she cried, her heart beating hard in her chest as her feet pounded against the ground. The figures parted to reveal her father looking up with wide eyes, but Katara didn’t slow down. She let herself slam into his chest, panting and crying as his strong arms wrapped around her. “Dad, I’m so sorry- I- I’ll miss you so much, I’m sorry-”

Hakoda tightened his grip around her shoulders, cradling the back of her head in one hand. “Katara, it’s okay,” he hummed, stroking her hair and working hard to fight the moisture welling in his eyes. “Don’t apologize. _I’m_ sorry. I’m going to miss you _so much_.”

Katara nodded, moving a hand to wipe her eyes but refusing to pull away. Hakoda rubbed her arms, noticing they were free in the light tunic she wore. “Now what’s this?” He asked, trying to laugh lightheartedly, “You’ll freeze before we even leave the South Pole! You know I’m counting on you to look after Sokka and Gran Gran.”

Kanna laid a gentle hand on Katara’s shoulder. “I think it’s supposed to be the other way around, Hakoda,” she said with a smile. “Don’t worry, no one will go coat-less in my house.”

Sokka crossed his arms from a few feet away, pouting, “I’m the man of the tribe now, I don’t need to be looked after- especially not by my _sister_.”

Katara shot him a look but Hakoda just chuckled. “Don’t be so sure, Sokka. You need each other more than you realize.”

There was a moment of hesitation before Sokka’s face softened and he joined the family, looking up at his dad with a smile. “I’ll miss you.”

Katara bit her lip, but try as she might she couldn’t stop the renewed flow of tears. Sokka rolled his eyes, but patted her tenderly on the shoulder as Hakoda drew all of them into hug. 

She savored the warm embrace of her family for as long as she could, but all too soon Katara found herself standing alone, shivering against the cold as she watched the last blue sail disappear beyond the horizon.


	2. Yon Rha

It was a few weeks after the final battle when Katara sat down with her father. Surrounded by the familiar walls of their igloo, she picked at the fur pelt on the ground while Hakoda sat quietly. 

Finally, she took a deep breath and looked her dad in the eye. “About a month ago, I confronted Yon Rha.”

Hakoda’s expression faltered for a moment before there was a glint of realization in his eyes. “Katara-” He paused, not sure how to react. He considered the mix of emotions triggered by his daughter’s words. Shock, concern, confusion, anger, grief, swirled in his chest. He asked simply, “How did you find him?” 

“Zuko-”

“Did he come with you?” Hakoda interrupted before she could continue.

Katara scanned her father’s face, trying to gauge his reaction. “Yes.”

“Did anyone else? Did Sokka?”

“No,” Katara looked away, “Sokka didn’t want me to go.”

Hakoda folded his hands in front of him. “So, once you found him… what happened?”

She was hesitant at first, but soon the whole story came spilling out of her mouth. “-I almost did it Dad. I came so close, to- to _skewering_ him!” Katara choked on a sob, tears streaming down her face.

Hakoda moved across the pelt and wrapped his arms around her, holding his daughter close to his chest and stroking her hair. “But you _didn’t_ , Katara, and that’s what’s important. You were strong. I can’t say I could’ve done the same.”

She was too big now to pull onto his lap, but she leaned against him, wiping the moisture from her face. “So, you’re not mad I found him?”

Hakoda smiled, “I can’t say I’m _happy_ about it, but-” He sighed, shifting to look at Katara. “I owe you an apology. Both you kids, really, but especially you. I relied on your mother so much, and never imagined _she_ would be taken in a raid. When I left with the other men-”

“-Dad, you don’t need to apologize for that.”

Hakoda held up a hand. “When I left, I felt like _I_ was getting closure. I had a lot of anger, a lot of guilt still, and going off to fight felt like a way to channel those feelings. I can’t tell you how many times I thought about what I would do, if our fleet ran into those Raiders. But I was only thinking about myself. I didn’t consider how much pain and anger _you_ still had.” He squeezed Katara’s hand, his face serious. “Going after Yon Rha…that was reckless, dangerous. But I don’t think I left you with many other options.”

Katara nodded in understanding, blinking her eyes dry. “Did you know who he was? What Mom did, for me?”

Hakoda sat back, eyes clouded with the dark memory the family shared. “More or less. We knew the Fire Nation was weeding out benders, and Kya was always fearless, and selfless. I wish I could take credit for that quality in you,” he cupped Katara’s face in his weathered palm.

“And you didn’t blame me?” Katara asked, the corners of her mouth twitching downward.

A pang shot through Hakoda’s chest at her question. His face dropped, his tone earnest. “ _Of course not_. Everyone lost somebody in the war, and how could I point fingers at my own child? If anything I blamed myself.”

“Dad…” This time it was Katara being hurt by old wounds, “It was Fire Nation soldiers, you-”

Hakoda shook his head, sighing heavily. “I don’t know if you remember, but when we found out you were a waterbender, I started looking for a master. Sokka was so jealous,” his smile was bittersweet, “We were so excited, so proud. Obviously, neither of us were benders so it was unexpected. But we should’ve known…it was a dangerous time to be a waterbender. The village had lost so many benders already, dragged off in raids. I tried to be cautious, but-” His breath hitched but he clenched his jaw.

Katara’s eyes started to sting again as she flug her arms around her dad, burying her head in his shoulder. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“For what?” Hakoda chuckled as he cradled her to him.

“I don’t know… I’m just, sorry.”

His brow furrowed, eyes wandering around the room which had only just become his home again. “It’s okay,” he said softly, kissing her head, “It’s all over now.”


End file.
